Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

Nonfiction | Graphic Memoir | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-10

Chapters 11-18

Chapters 19-22

Chapters 23-25

Chapters 26-28

Chapters 29-42

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 19-22Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 19 Summary: “The Neuropsychologist”

Mira’s parents call and tell her that her aunt’s friend has a son who is a neuropsychologist and lives within driving distance of Mira. Her family begins pressuring her to date him, calling her endlessly and coaxing her into it with warnings of her need to have children before it is too late. Her dying uncle tells her, “Just meet with him […] And then I will know that you are taken care of before I go” (129). Mira convinces herself that she agrees to call the neuropsychologist for her uncle and to catch up with her parents and brother, but deep down she does it because “it felt really… right” (131). She goes to a bar and hooks up with a man from the band playing that night. Mira ends up calling, but the neuropsychologist never calls her back. One night while she waits for the neuropsychologist to call back, Mira has a dream that she chases a small brown boy across a field, but she does not know whether the child is hers. Her family immediately switches their tune, telling her it was not worth it anyway and she probably avoided an unpleasant experience and suggests things that might be wrong with him. Mira’s mother is a little more honest and tells her that her aunt talked to her friend, and it is because Mira’s “no beauty” that the man was not interested (143). Mira’s mother reminds her that she is not fair and tells her, “You’re never going to be someone’s trophy wife” (143). When she senses Mira is upset, she backtracks and tells Mira she is the same color as her. Mira knows this is not true, that she is darker than everyone in her family, and she ends the call. She again retreats to the bar wishing there was someone to meet who would understand, but she does not know anyone like that.

Chapter 20 Summary: “I Know You”

Jed finally comes into Mira’s life, although he was always there on the periphery. Three years after moving to New York, she runs into him by chance, and they recognize each other from school in New Mexico. Jed is a documentary film maker, and Mira introduces herself as a writer. The two instantly connect, and Jed asks Mira out, but Mira’s mind immediately begins wondering if he asks her out “[s]o [he] can say [he] dated a dark girl? So, [he] can go through me like some fucking phase?” (147). Jed proves her wrong quickly, explaining that he just likes talking to her. Soon, Mira realizes she and Jed can “talk in a way that [she’d] never been able to talk to anyone” (150). She finally feels like she has someone she can be herself around and who sees her just for being Mira and not for her skin color. At the same time, he does not ignore it as if it is not there. Because Jed is Jewish, he knows what it is like to be marginalized, and he understands that in Mira. Mira admits she does not remember the specific conversations she had then, she just knew she had found the person she connects most with in the world. This is in stark contrast to the types of conversations Mira has with others until this point, as she does not feel like she is understood by her friends, family, or the people she dates. Real-life photos of Jed as a child and young adult are shown, and Jed is drawn with thick black eyebrows, hair, and whiskers.

Chapter 21 Summary: “Man Secrets, Revealed!”

Jed tells Mira how to negotiate for higher salary and encourages her to introduce herself as a writer, saying he knows she will publish more someday. In a moment of humor, Jed also tells Mira that he asked his parents not to call before noon on weekends, even if their apartment is on fire. When Mira is incredulous, Jed explains that having a Jewish mother means he is naturally “good at disappointing people” (152).

Chapter 22 Summary: “A Girl Like You”

Mira is waiting at the bar to meet Jed when an Indian man offers to buy her a drink. She declines, letting him know she is waiting for someone. He asks if the man is Indian, and when he finds out the man she is waiting for is white, the Indian man begins lecturing Mira about her choices. He says to her, “I know a girl like you doesn’t end up with a white man unless she wants to be treated like a colonized bitch” (154) and tells her she is not ready for love, and then Jed shows up. In her mind, Mira is raging at the man’s sense of entitlement to her as an Indian woman.

Chapters 19-22 Analysis

Mira’s family attempts to influence who she marries by setting her up with a neuropsychologist. However, when the man hears that Mira is dark skinned, he decides not to call her back. Mira sees this as a typical experience that she has had throughout high school and college already, but her family makes it worse by telling her she is “never going to be someone’s trophy wife” (143) in such a matter-of-fact way that it is hard for Mira not to take it to heart. To make things worse, Mira’s mother seems to be in denial of Mira’s skin color rather than accepting of it as Mira originally thought. Mira’s mother tells her she is no different than the rest of the family, and Mira is not sure why “this is the thing that made [her] want to cry the most” (144). Mira’s lack of understanding by her family stems into her dating life as well, and she escapes her negative emotions by hooking up with men. Mira soon re-encounters Jed, who turns out to be the person who sees her just for who she is and not for her skin color.

Mira has been judged for her skin color her entire life. In adulthood, she is stereotyped and fetishized by men for her skin, and in childhood she is told she is not fair and does not stand a chance against girls with light skin. The conversation Mira has with Ms. Morrell in fifth grade, in which Ms. Morrell assures her she is an American, was a pivotal moment for Mira. In a similar but far deeper and larger way, Jed has the same effect on Mira. When he first asks her out, her experiences come through as she begins interrogating him about any possible ulterior motives. Jed is Jewish and knows what it is like to feel discriminated against, and he and Mira connect over their views of American culture and its treatment of anything outside what it considers the norm.

In Mira’s graphic novel, she mixes both direct and indirect characterization to create portraits of the people in her lives and the way they each view the world and Mira herself. The direct characterization she uses includes illustrations of characters with distinctive features and expressions, such as Mira’s grandmother being drawn with a lecturing posture and look upon her face. She also depicts personalities and views using diegetic narration, which is the story being delivered directly by the narrator. Indirect characterization is further achieved through the conversations Mira has with each person in her life. Subtle moments like when Jed comments, “You’re Jewish and I’m Indian! How backwoods could we be?” (148) when Mira says she doesn’t want people knowing they met in grade school illustrate the humor and understanding Jed and Mira share with each other, and this is just one example of a regularly used technique in the novel.